Part 3 (1/2)

”Stinky nasty b.u.g.g.e.r. No touching Ryleeeeeeeee!”

Hands jerked me to my feet. ”Rylee?” Liam was trying to help; I know he was. But I couldn't breathe, and pain shot through my middle, a band of red-hot knives jabbing into me with each tiny bit of movement. I forced myself to shove him away, to stand on my own. If he knew how badly I was hurt, he'd try to carry me too.

”Go. We have to go,” I managed to gasp out.

Far too slowly for my taste, Liam led now, Alex limped along beside me, and somewhere in the next ten steps I found the ability to breathe again. Broken ribs were a b.i.t.c.h at any time, but when trying to outrun a ma.s.sively hungry and fingerless peeved giant-well, let's just say I could have done without.

The slam of the giant's foot into the ground scooted us forward faster yet, and my ribs protested yet again, stealing my ability to breathe. We were just twenty feet from the open arch of the castle entrance way. Pamela pushed herself off Liam's back and turned to face the giant. The look on her face was one I was beginning to know all too well.

Eyes narrowed, chin tipped up, she lifted her hands and flung them toward the giant. Two fireb.a.l.l.s erupted from her fingertips, hitting the giant in the chest.

d.a.m.n, I wish I'd thought about that ... nope, never mind. The giant patted the fire out, almost calmly, and then snarled at us. His jagged teeth had hunks of flesh and armor clinging to them, and from between them protruded a thick, long tongue that he used to clean his own face with in single lick.

”f.u.c.k, that is nasty,” I spit out, along with a gob of blood. ”Move it, Pam. Your fireb.a.l.l.s are just p.i.s.sing him off. Just get inside. I don't think he can follow.”

”What? Why not?”

”Giants aren't real smart and as soon as we're out of sight, we're out of mind.”

G.o.ds, I hoped that my memory was right. Grabbing her by the arm, I ran as fast as my labored breathing would allow into what I hoped would be the safety of the castle.

Right, I'd forgotten for a moment about the creatures we'd not been able to identify, a part of me hoping Pamela had taken them all out.

The creatures that had been firing on us were not trolls or ogres.

They were G.o.ds-be-d.a.m.ned big a.s.s red caps. I did a fast count. There were at least twenty red caps. Two arms, two legs, built like a man, but their faces looked as if they had been smashed with a shovel, flat with just slits for noses and no lips to cover their blocky square teeth. Each of them was close to seven feet tall, carried a wicked iron pike, had heavy iron boots, and then there was their namesake. On each of their heads was a cap made of some sort of viscera, blood from the organ poured down the sides of their heads, and stained their skin a rusty brown.

”We can't outrun them,” I said, as I slowed to a stop.

Liam grabbed my arm. ”Yes, we can-”

”No, we can't,” I snapped. ”They can't be outrun, not on their own turf, at least.”

The red caps started pounding the b.u.t.t of their pikes into the ground at their feet, each thump bringing them a step closer. They had ringed us. From what I knew of them, which wasn't a lot, we were in for a fight. Trained warriors who bathed themselves in the blood of their victims. Yeah, not really how I wanted to start my week. Freaking stupid Mondays.

”Pamela, to my back.” Thank the G.o.ds I'd been training her. She responded without question, pressing her back into mine. Alex tucked his b.u.t.t in next to mine.

Liam didn't question, just slid his back against ours.

”Head shots, people,” I said, my words calmer than I felt. Twenty red caps was no small feat to take on at the best of times.

As if in response, as I steadied my stance, something s.h.i.+fted inside of me, and one of my ribs pressed against my right lung. s.h.i.+t, this was about to get tough.

Their pikes still thumping into the ground, the red caps were twenty feet away in all their blood and viscera glory. This close they looked like Dox on steroids, all muscle and small beady black eyes, bloodstained skin, with armor stretched taut over their bodies. My guts churned; injured, I was going to be more of a liability than a help in this particular situation. As if to drive the point home, pain rippled sharp and intense through my chest.

Four red caps engaged us, and I spun my swords out, crisscrossing them to catch the downward blow of a pike. The red cap forced me to my knees, the stone biting through my jeans. Alex leapt forward, snagging the red cap's belt and yanking him off balance.

The red cap spun toward Alex, giving me his back. Thinking I was the weaker of the two of us. Perfect. He snapped his pike back in order to drive it into Alex's side, but I beat him to the punch.

I drove my sword through the base of his neck, then yanked the blade to the left, beheading the big f.u.c.ker before he could complete his swing.

”Good job, Alex.”

Alex blew a raspberry at the red cap. ”b.l.o.o.d.y stupid messy b.u.g.g.e.r.”

Yeah, he'd definitely picked up the local lingo.

A roar came from outside. The giant was still stomping around, and p.i.s.sed as all get out. He gave me an idea. A bad idea maybe, but it might be the only chance we had.

”Pamela, knock out that arch.”

She spun, clapped her hands together and then flung them apart. The arch over the entryway blasted apart with the force of her spell, and as the dust settled, a loud, booming laugh floated down to us.

Garbling his language, whatever it was, the giant stomped into the courtyard, scooping up the closest red cap and jammed him, pike and all, into his mouth.

I blinked several times. That had been the hand that I'd cut off his fingers. And while they were maybe a bit on the short side, they'd grown back. Son of a b.i.t.c.h, I didn't know giants had that ability.

The red caps were torn, half of them engaging the giant, the other half standing in our way. Better odds than we had before. Liam fired the crossbow, the bolt taking the closest red cap in his right eye. With a scream, the red cap went down to his knees, and then fell forward onto his face. Liam was already reloading the crossbow before the red cap hit the ground.

”Pamela, out front,” I said. ”I'll keep an eye on the big b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”

Trusting my crew, I let them take the lead. Which meant I had to let them guard my back while I watched the giant take out the red caps one by one. Their fighting style was guerrilla, striking hard and then darting out of the giant's way, inflicting blows, but not any real damage that I could see. The giant's skin was thick, and the red caps weapons weren't spelled to cut deep like my swords.

Unfortunately for them, the giant caught on faster than I had thought he could, and in a matter of minutes, he'd eaten four more of them, armor and all.

”Rylee, we have a problem,” Liam said calmly, like he was telling me about the upcoming weather.

I turned away from the giant and his snacks. Ahead of us another legion of red caps trotted into the castle courtyard. Three rows of ten-maybe that wasn't a legion, I didn't really know for sure. But another thirty red caps? s.h.i.+t.

A body went flying by us and I ducked, rather belatedly. I turned to the giant, who had demolished the last of the red caps and was now eyeing us up. I saluted him with my sword, another idea forming.

”You remember this?” I called up to him.

Apparently he did, as he flexed his hand with his newly regrown fingers. He roared and I did the only thing I could think of. I ran toward him.

OKAY, SO MAYBE-again-it wasn't the best idea I'd ever had. ”Stick with me,” I gasped out, and again, Liam and Pamela moved with me. I wasn't worried about Alex; he wouldn't stray from my side with a battle like this going on. He panted, alternating between whimpers and swearing at the red caps, but he didn't get in the way.

Through the giant's legs I ran, skidding through the blasted rock and vaulting over a downed block. My feet hit the ground on the other side and the rib that had been knocking on my lung slid through it. Sharp, piercing pain rocketed through me, and I clutched my chest, still managing to get around the broken entryway, before flattening myself against the outside wall of the castle. Now the giant stood between us, and the red caps, giving us time to regroup.

Pamela and Liam plastered themselves next to me.

Liam smiled over at me. ”Out of sight, out of mind. Too bad it isn't always that easy.”

I couldn't smile back, just slid to the ground, blood bubbling up to coat my tongue. I swallowed the coppery flavor back, knowing that if they saw it, they would panic. And while it was bad, I would survive; it just hurt like a son of a b.i.t.c.h to breathe. Or move. Or blink.

”Rylee bleeding.” Alex sniffled, the little rat fink.

”I'm fine.” Okay, that's what I said, but the blood in my mouth made it a rather garbled 'I'm fine.'

The sounds of death and destruction rolled out of the castle around us. The giant was cleaning house, as I'd hoped.